Local Search Engine Marketing: 6 Surefire Tactics for On-Page SEO

There are countless strategies and tactics to get your businesses website to the top of popular local search engine results. But how do you know which ones are the most important?

On-page, [intlink id="6657" type="post"]local business SEO [/intlink]demands a different approach (versus the standard, on-page optimization strategies) due to the increase of competition revolved around local business search. Here are 6 surefire strategies for winning the online, local search game with on-page SEO:

1. Page Titles

The page titles on your website are one of the most important on-page SEO strategies due to the way Google indexes website pages. Based on the tags within the website code (the real title of your web page(s) will contain the title tag i.e. <title> in the heading area. When creating titles for your websites pages, remember to keep them between 40 to 70 characters and include at least on primary keyword. It is important to remember that if your title is too long, it will be cut off on search engine results page.

2. Meta Descriptions

When search engines create links to your website or particular pages (depending on the search query), they generate a small “snippet” of information under the title of your page. These meta descriptions should be aimed to summarize your page’s content with the use of your sites primary keywords (remember not to over stuff!). Each meta description should be unique to each page and should be less than 160 characters.

3. URL’s and Permalinks

In order to make your website a little more “search engine friendly,” it is important to have a URL structure that is different for each of the pages on your website. Not only do you want to SEO optimize these URL’s, but you also need to make them easier for visiting members to remember and point other prospects to. Some key characteristics to keep in mind when thinking about the construction of the URL’s:

• Coordinate the URL with the content on that specific page
• Keep the URL’s shorter so they can be easily remembered
• Include a keyword in the URL structure

4.  Page Content

If there is one word that every local business needs to remember when it comes to optimizing their on-page SEO it is: unique. As Google is crawling the pages of your website, they are checking for newly updated, quality, unique content. Your page rank will increase if you are consistently updating the internal links and content within your website and one way to do this (with the least amount of hassle) is by hosting your blog on your website.

A blog will give your website a “refreshed” look by adding new content a few times a week. Search engines will LOVE the frequent updates to your site, and thus, reward you with a progressively better page ranking.

Don’t Forget: Always have a list of your SEO report and use your primary keywords in All of the content your post to your website.

5. Internal Linking

Using internal linking on your local businesses website can be extremely helpful to on-page SEO efforts, but I must warn you to proceed with caution. Many companies and developers become a little “overzealous” with their internal linking structure, causing them to be red flagged by popular search engines.

When doing internal linking, optimize anchor text (hyperlinked, primary keywords) to other pages in your website that pertain to that particular keyword. Google loves internal linking to meaningful content (also a good strategy for your blog), but just remember not to go overboard.

6.  Landing pages

Local landing pages have the ability to satisfy search queries regarding a specific city or town that your business services. Having one landing page (per city or area) help online users find your location faster and also help your organic results rankings. These landing pages are tied to your main businesses website, but they have a more “local feel” giving visitors information like:

• Locally optimized URL (include name of city or area)
• Physical Address
• Local Phone Number
• Special promotions or coupons in that specific area

Chris Marentis

For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL’s Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.